The manga artist Masashi Kishimoto, also the creator of Naruto, was heavily influenced by the anime Dragon Ball while creating Naruto. Kishimoto’s work is loved by fans for various reasons, whether it be the storyline or the characters.
The artist also once cited that the protagonist of Naruto, i.e., Naruto Uzumaki himself, is inspired by Goku from Dragon Ball, as in both stories the protagonist is focused on becoming the strongest in their respective worlds.
How was Masashi Kishimoto incentivized by Dragon Ball?
Naruto Uzumaki’s character has been incentivized by Goku from “Dragon Ball” by Masashi Kishimoto since both have strong personalities and strive to dominate their own worlds. In addition, themes of friendship, cooperation, and overcoming insurmountable obstacles are included throughout both series. In order to write a narrative that would interest both youngsters and adults, Kishimoto has also said that “Dragon Ball” served as his inspiration.
“What ‘Dragon Ball’ taught me is what was fun about manga, what makes a fun story in manga, In fact, I was reading it as it was coming out in weekly installments in Weekly Shonen Jump, so it really taught me what entertainment is and how to keep an audience captivated, and of course, the art influenced me as well.”
The creator also learned an important lesson while being inspired by Dragon Ball, about what fun a manga should carry and what makes its story fun. He also learned about what entertainment is and how to carry it out even after a week or longer to keep the audience captivated.
To your wonders, Dragon Ball wasn’t the only incentivizing thing in the creator’s beginning journey. He also said,
“At some point between second and fourth grade, I got into Akira Toriyama Sensei’s ‘Dr. Slump’ anime and ‘Dragon Ball’ manga, I loved his characters. I was especially attached to ‘Dr. Slump’s’ Arale and ‘Dragon Ball’s’ Goku. Also, his art really appealed to me. There was something about his cartoony drawing style that felt right, more so than realistic drawings. I thought to myself, I want to become like Toriyama Sensei.”
And as Kishimoto claims, he was significantly affected by Akira Toriyama’s visual style in addition to learning about engaging narrative. He actually became a manga artist because of Toriyama’s work. In an interview with VIZ Media (2012), Kishimoto said that he was inspired to create and draw manga as a youngster by Toriyama’s stories and artwork.
The Inspiration From Dragon Ball, Helped Masashi Kishimoto Make An $11B Empire
Since its first publication, the Naruto brand is estimated to have generated $11 billion in revenue through its manga, anime, IP sales, products, and media. But it’s anticipated that this number will be larger than what was stated. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible if Dragon Ball didn’t exist in the first place to inspire Masashi Kishimoto.
Masashi Kishimoto, the author, and illustrator of the Japanese manga series Naruto, is responsible for the character’s first rise to stardom. The narrative follows a teenage ninja named Naruto Uzumaki as he battles several incredibly strong and cunning Naruto villains in his quest for peer acceptance and the title of the future Hokage.
Source: looper
